Oakley Posted March 16, 2016 Report Share Posted March 16, 2016 Hello, I've been researching the following gloves and was curious what others might have to say on the topic. My local shop has Astars GP Pros and RS Taichi GP-Evos that I've tried on, and the Evos felt much better, but I've heard that Held, Rev'It Jerez and Knox Handroids are also very good in terms of protection and quality fit. I wear protective gear on the street, but am relatively new to the track gear side of things. With most of these gloves being mid $200's and higher I'm curious what others think in terms of protection, fit and quality as I can't try on everything that's out there within my local shops. I'm sure there's a lot of personal preference involved, but does it seem like there is a glove or two out there that "takes the cake" compared to others in terms of quality, fit and protection? I was also curious if Astars seems to be more popular just because they're better at marketing and brand awareness compared to some of the smaller companies or if they truly do seem to be high quality. Maybe I'm over analyzing, but just want to any disappointment and make a good decision. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotfoot Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 I have been very happy with AlpineStars that I've used for coaching and racing. Admittedly, being female with small hands, the choices of gloves available to fit me is limited, but I have used some other brands and been happiest with the AlpineStars. I am also happy to support them because they are one of the few manufacturers to make full-protection road racing gloves for women. Mine have lasted for YEARS. I crash tested one pair and they held up beautifully, not so much as a scratch or bruise on my hands, and I still wear that pair. I have also heard that Held gloves are extremely well-made and comfortable; I'd be tempted to try them but can never find them for sale anywhere where I can try them on, and I just don't want to order gloves online without trying them first; being comfortable and being able to move my hands properly is important so I really want them to fit. If they are even a little bit too big they fold under my palm on the throttle hand and create blisters, that's the biggest problem I had with brands other than the AlpineStars. I think the AlpineStars sell a lot more gloves by making them available to try on in so many more retail shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 I've had (and crashed with) Held and have (and crashed with) Alpinestars. Both are great gloves. In terms of outright protection, my Helds comes out on top. As Hotfoot says, they can be quite difficult to find, even here in Denmark (Held is from Germany, just south of the border). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 My preferences are Held's and Knox Handroids. These days I'm riding mostly in Held's that are BMW branded. The Handroids are really nice but when they get some sweat in them they tend to be a bit more of a challenge to put on and take off between sessions. The Held gloves don't tend to have this issue. Handroids and Helds are very different construction. The Helds are much heavier construction with memory foam with Stingray and Kangaroo leather in the palms and a softer cowhide on top. The Handroids use Kangaroo and plastic palm sliders with their really cool looking plastic top protection system. The big problem with the Handroids is they are unlined and when the sweat from your hands gets into the glove they become a bit more of a challenge to put on and remove. Possibly the best information you can get is from Sportbike Trackgear's website. Brian Van does a lot of in depth videos on the features of all the gear that they sell and that can really give you a lot of insight into the features that are most important to you. There's no defacto "best" of anything. Every product has it's strong points and weak points. The best approach is to buy based on the strong points and use the gear where it's suited best. Despite the Handroid's "problem" with sweatyness there are conditions where I go to them first rather than my Helds. P.S. Even if you don't ride a BMW check out the BMW line of DoubleR gloves. They are Held gloves at a good discount off the full Held price. Right now Last season's Double R gloves are selling on Ebay for about $250 a pair. Quite the bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Update. I was curious and checked the price again on the last season Double R gloves. They have dipped below $200. Supply is dwindling so slzing might be an issue but they are great gloves (made by Held) at a fraction of the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobie Fair Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 Really just a survey response, I've been pleased with the A-star, but honestly haven't spent much time in other brands. I have road tested the A-star, very happy with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghetti Posted March 19, 2016 Report Share Posted March 19, 2016 I wonder, with all the good reviews the held gloves hold (?) why we don't hear more about their suits? Are their racing suits as good as their phantom gloves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakley Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Thank you for your input everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 I have a friend at the track that love's his Held suit. I think their lack of popularity is more of a function of a lack of marketing more than anything else. Their gloves aren't really heavily marketed either. You won't find Held gloves at the local Cycle Gear. If you want a pair you usually have to contact a specialty retailer and know your size. The gloves are good enough so they sell themselves. The suits probably will to once the market gets to know them better. I should probably try a Held suit sometime myself but I already have too many suits as it is. Their gloves are amazing. I can only imagine the suits are at the same level of comfort and protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jethead Posted April 2, 2016 Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 I wonder, with all the good reviews the held gloves hold () why we don't hear more about their suits? Are their racing suits as good as their phantom gloves? I have Held Titan gloves and love them. They're like three seasons old and are in fine shape. Having said that I also wear a Held Slade suit from STG. And it's very nice as well. Very comfortable. Very well built and durable. The zippers are tanks. I've thought I've busted the main zipper plenty of times getting in or out of the suit, but it's held up fine. Held makes good chit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghetti Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Haven't seen Held sponsoring riders in any WSBK or MotoGP category. Maybe that's the only reason they're less popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 I think the reason is much more that Held sees itself as a "Biker Fashion" brand, rather than a racing brand. There's probably more money in that segment too ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzy Moto Posted September 7, 2017 Report Share Posted September 7, 2017 On 3/15/2016 at 9:14 PM, Oakley said: Hello, I've been researching the following gloves and was curious what others might have to say on the topic. My local shop has Astars GP Pros and RS Taichi GP-Evos that I've tried on, and the Evos felt much better, but I've heard that Held, Rev'It Jerez and Knox Handroids are also very good in terms of protection and quality fit. I wear protective gear on the street, but am relatively new to the track gear side of things. With most of these gloves being mid $200's and higher I'm curious what others think in terms of protection, fit and quality as I can't try on everything that's out there within my local shops. I'm sure there's a lot of personal preference involved, but does it seem like there is a glove or two out there that "takes the cake" compared to others in terms of quality, fit and protection? I was also curious if Astars seems to be more popular just because they're better at marketing and brand awareness compared to some of the smaller companies or if they truly do seem to be high quality. Maybe I'm over analyzing, but just want to any disappointment and make a good decision. Thanks! I realize this is an old post... I can't comfortably wear all gloves - many years ago my metacarpal and my knuckles were broken so unless the gloves are ergonomically correct, I'll have anywhere from discomfort to pain. I've fallen off wearing both Alipinestars and Spidi. Both performed as advertised; neither were compromised. I wiped both off when I got back to the pits and I went back out. I've raced in Alpinestars and Spidi and been happy with the protection and ergonomics. I've never spent any significant amount of time in any of the other gloves that you've mentioned, so I can't really comment. I have seen a lot of fast guys in those brands though and I suspect that they wouldn't be working with garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamienC Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 I currently have A-star GP Tech gloves, their best track gloves. They are great gloves but to be honest, they are not as good as my previous Rev'it Jerez Pro. The only reason I got them is because when my Rev'it got a little too old, I needed to buy gloves very fast, and the Rev'it distribution here is not so great... The A-star are great, but I had to send them back twice because, without any crash, some of the sewing thread were falling apart. First time after only 3 track days, second time 6 months later. So not very happy with that. Did not happen with my Rev'it. But the real difference between the two is that the leather on the palm of the Rev-it is kangaroo leather (compared to more standard stuff on the A-star) and while very solid, it is thinner. And actually, I do feel the difference: I have better contact on my handlebars with the rev-it than with the A-star. That said, except for that, the A-star are also state-of-the-art protection etc...so very good gloves indeed. But next round, I will go back to Rev'it Jerez Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotfoot Posted September 22, 2017 Report Share Posted September 22, 2017 I finally bit the bullet and got some Held Phantom II gloves. Haven't had the chance to ride in them yet but they sure are beautifully made, the fit well and the quality and protection seem very impressive and they are comfortable. I'm sure they'll need a little break-in but I look forward to trying them out on the track. I have Alpinestars, too, and I've been very happy with them - my only reason for trying something else is that they changed their sizing and now I am apparently between sizes so they don't fit as well as prior models I've had. I'm excited to try out the Held gloves but they are in a different price category - for features, protection, value and availability it's honestly really hard to beat the Alpinestars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted September 23, 2017 Report Share Posted September 23, 2017 Congrats Hotfoot. I also picked up Phantom II's recently (part of my summer vacation trip to Portugal & Spain), as replacement for my worn out A* GP Pros. Due to poor weather here (I've been raining almost every single day since July 1st) I haven't had time to try them out except when I was on vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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